Deuteronomy 1
1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all of Israel, across the Jordan, in the plain of the wilderness opposite the Red Sea, between Paran and Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth, where gold is very plentiful,
These are the words which Moses said to all Israel on the far side of Jordan, in the waste land in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran on the one side, and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab on the other.
2 eleven days from Horeb, by way of Mount Seir as far as Kadesh-barnea.
It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.
3 In the fortieth year, on the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses told the sons of Israel all that the Lord had instructed him. And so he spoke to them,
Now in the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses gave to the children of Israel all the orders which the Lord had given him for them;
4 after he had struck down Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, who resided at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,
After he had overcome Sihon, king of the Amorites, ruling in Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, ruling in Ashtaroth, at Edrei:
5 across the Jordan in the land of Moab. And so, Moses began to explain the law, and to say:
On the far side of Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses gave the people this law, saying,
6 “The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying: ‘You have remained long enough on this mountain.
The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, You have been long enough in this mountain:
7 Turn back and go to the mountain of the Amorites, and to the other places which are near it: the plains as well as the mountainous regions, and the low-lying places opposite the south and along the shore of the sea, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river Euphrates.’
Make a move now, and go on your way into the hill-country of the Amorites and the places near it, in the Arabah and the hill-country and in the lowlands and in the South and by the seaside, all the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.
8 ‘Lo,’ he said, ‘I have delivered it to you. Enter and possess that which the Lord swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that he would give it to them, and to their offspring after them.’
See, all the land is before you: go in and take for yourselves the land which the Lord gave by an oath to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their seed after them.
9 And I said to you, at that time:
At that time I said to you, I am not able to undertake the care of you by myself;
10 ‘I alone am not able to sustain you. For the Lord, your God, has multiplied you, and you are today like the stars of heaven, very many.
The Lord your God has given you increase, and now you are like the stars of heaven in number.
11 May the Lord, the God of your fathers, add to this number many thousands more, and may he bless you, just as he has said.
May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times greater in number than you are, and give you his blessing as he has said!
12 Alone, I do not have the strength to endure your arbitrations and judgments and disputes.
How is it possible for me by myself to be responsible for you, and undertake the weight of all your troubles and your arguments?
13 Offer, from among you, wise and experienced men, those whose conversation has been proven within your tribes, so that I may appoint them as your rulers.’
Take for yourselves men who are wise, far-seeing, and respected among you, from your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.
14 Then you responded to me: ‘What you intend to do is a good thing.’
And you made answer and said to me, It is good for us to do as you say.
15 And so, I took from your tribes men, wise and noble, and I appointed them as rulers, as tribunes and centurions, and as leaders over fifty and over ten, who would teach you each thing.
So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men and respected, and made them rulers over you, captains of thousands and captains of hundreds and captains of fifties and captains of tens, and overseers of your tribes.
16 And I instructed them, saying: ‘Listen to them, and judge what is just, whether he is one of your citizens or a sojourner.
And at that time I gave orders to your judges, saying, Let all questions between your brothers come before you for hearing, and give decisions uprightly between a man and his brother or one from another nation who is with him.
17 There shall be no favoritism to any persons. So you shall listen to the little as well as to the great. And you shall not accept anyone’s reputation, for this is the judgment of God. But if anything seems difficult to you, then refer it to me, and I will hear it.’
In judging, do not let a man's position have any weight with you; give hearing equally to small and great; have no fear of any man, for it is God who is judge: and any cause in which you are not able to give a decision, you are to put before me and I will give it a hearing.
18 And I instructed you in all that you were obliged to do.
And at that time I gave you all the orders which you were to do.
19 Then, setting out from Horeb, we crossed through a terrible and great wasteland, which you saw along the way of the mountain of the Amorite, just as the Lord our God had instructed us. And when we had arrived at Kadesh-barnea,
Then we went on from Horeb, through all that great and cruel waste which you saw, on our way to the hill-country of the Amorites, as the Lord gave us orders; and we came to Kadesh-barnea.
20 I said to you: ‘You have arrived at the mountain of the Amorite, which the Lord our God will give to us.
And I said to you, You have come to the hill-country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us.
21 Gaze upon the land that the Lord your God gives to you. Ascend and possess it, just as the Lord our God has spoken to your fathers. Do not be afraid, and do not become terrified by anything.’
See now, the Lord your God has put the land into your hands: go up and take it, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has said to you; have no fear and do not be troubled.
22 And you all approached me and said: ‘Let us send men who may consider the land, and who may report as to the way by which we ought to ascend, and as to which cities we ought to travel.’
And you came near to me, every one of you, and said, Let us send men before us to go through the land with care and give us an account of the way we are to go and the towns to which we will come.
23 And since the word was pleasing to me, I sent from among you twelve men, one from each tribe.
And what you said seemed good to me, and I took twelve men from among you, one from every tribe;
24 These, when they had set out and had ascended the mountains, arrived as far as the valley of the cluster of grapes. And having considered the land,
And they went up into the hill-country and came to the valley of Eshcol, and saw what was there.
25 having taken from its fruits in order to show its fertility, they brought these to us, and they said: ‘The land that the Lord our God will give to us is good.’
And taking in their hands some of the fruit of the land, they came down again to us, and gave us their account, saying, It is a good land which the Lord our God is giving us.
26 Yet you were not willing to go there. Instead, being incredulous to the word of the Lord our God,
But going against the order of the Lord your God, you would not go up:
27 you murmured in your tents, and you said: ‘The Lord hates us, and therefore he has led us away from the land of Egypt, so that he might deliver us into the hand of the Amorite and destroy us.
And you made an angry outcry in your tents, and said, In his hate for us the Lord has taken us out of the land of Egypt, to give us up into the hands of the Amorites for our destruction.
28 To where should we ascend? The messengers have terrified our heart by saying: “The multitude is very great, and taller than us. And the cities are great, and the walls extend even to the sky. We have seen the sons of the Anakim there.”’
Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts feeble with fear by saying, The people are greater and taller than we are, and the towns are great and walled up to heaven; and more than this, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.
29 And I said to you: ‘Do not be apprehensive, nor should you fear them.
Then I said to you, Have no fear of them.
30 The Lord God himself, who is your leader, will fight on your behalf, just as he did in Egypt in the sight of all.
The Lord your God who goes before you will be fighting for you, and will do such wonders as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes;
31 And in the wilderness (as you yourselves saw), the Lord your God carried you, like a man who is accustomed to carrying his little son, along all the way that you walked, until you arrived at this place.’
And in the waste land, where you have seen how the Lord was supporting you, as a man does his son, in all your journeying till you came to this place.
32 And yet, despite all of this, you did not believe the Lord your God,
But for all this, you had no faith in the Lord your God,
33 who went before you on the way, and who marked out the place where you should pitch your tents, showing you the way by fire in the night, and by a pillar of cloud in the day.
Who goes before you on your way, looking for a place where you may put up your tents, in fire by night, lighting up the way you are to go, and in a cloud by day.
34 And when the Lord had heard the voice of your words, becoming angry, he swore and said:
And the Lord, hearing your words, was angry, and said with an oath,
35 ‘None of the men of this wicked generation will see the good land, which I have promised by oath to your fathers,
Truly, not one of this evil generation will see that good land which I said I would give to your fathers,
36 except Caleb the son of Jephuneh. For he himself will see it, and I will give the land on which he has walked to him and to his sons, because he has followed the Lord.’
But only Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, he will see it; and to him and to his children I will give the land over which his feet have gone, because he has been true to the Lord with all his heart.
37 Neither is his indignation with the people a wonder, since the Lord also became angry with me because of you, and so he said: ‘Neither will you enter into that place.
And, in addition, the Lord was angry with me because of you, saying, You yourself will not go into it:
38 But Joshua, the son of Nun, your minister, shall himself enter on your behalf. Exhort and strengthen this man, and he himself shall divide the land by lot to Israel.
Joshua, the son of Nun, your servant, he will go into the land: say to him that he is to be strong, for he will be Israel's guide into their heritage.
39 Your little ones, about whom you said that they would be led away as captives, and your sons, who to this day are ignorant of the difference between good and evil, they shall enter. And I will give the land to them, and they will possess it.
And your little ones, who, you said, would come into strange hands, your children, who now have no knowledge of good or evil, they will go into that land, and to them I will give it and it will be theirs.
40 But as for you, turn back and go out to the wilderness, by way of the Red Sea.’
But as for you, go back, journeying into the waste land by the way of the Red Sea.
41 And you responded to me: ‘We have sinned against the Lord. We will ascend and fight, just as the Lord our God has instructed.’ And having been equipped with weapons, when you were setting out for the mountain,
Then you said to me, We have done evil against the Lord, we will go up to the attack, as the Lord our God has given us orders. And arming yourselves every one, you made ready to go up without care into the hill-country.
42 the Lord said to me: ‘Say to them: Do not ascend and do not fight. For I am not with you. Otherwise, you may fall in the sight of your enemies.’
And the Lord said to me, Say to them, Do not go up to the attack; for I am not among you, and you will be overcome by those who are against you.
43 I spoke, and you did not listen. But, opposing the order of the Lord, and swelling with pride, you ascended onto the mountain.
This I said to you, but you gave no attention and went against the orders of the Lord, and in your pride went up into the hill-country.
44 And so, having gone forth, the Amorite, who was living in the mountains, came against you and pursued you, just as a swarm of bees would do. And he struck you down from Seir all the way to Hormah.
And the Amorites who were in the hill-country came out against you and put you to flight, rushing after you like bees, and overcame you in Seir, driving you even as far as Hormah.
45 And when you returned and were weeping in the sight of the Lord, he would not hear you, nor was he willing to agree to your voice.
And you came back, weeping before the Lord; but the Lord gave no attention to your cries and did not give ear to you.
46 Therefore, you camped at Kadesh-barnea for a long time.”
So you were kept waiting in Kadesh for a long time.
